PressHerald | Since Friday, many lawmakers, including a growing listnumber of Republicans,
have called on the governor to seek professional treatment. Democratic
leaders have asked him to resign. Senate Republican leaders said Monday
that they met with the governor to discuss “corrective action.”
Westbrook’s Mayor Colleen Hilton, a Democrat, was among many who
condemned the governor’s recent words and actions. Along with City
Council President Brendan Rielly and School Committee Chairman James
Violette, Hilton last week addressed an “Open Letter to the People of
Maine.”
“Once more Governor LePage has humiliated himself and the Office of
the Governor,” it read. “He continues to again embarrass the citizens of
this wonderful state. Unfortunately, the current target of his
inappropriate outbursts is Drew Gattine, a respected member and leader
of our community, the City of Westbrook, and a highly respected member
of the Maine State Legislature.
“Drew Gattine is what we want in a Maine leader. He is totally
dedicated to helping others, has integrity and a strong ethical compass,
is willing to lead with humor and humility, is articulate and is open
to dialogue with those who disagree with him.”
Rielly also confirmed that the town hall had been canceled and said
that a rally for decency was scheduled for Riverside Park at 6 p.m.
Wednesday.
Westbrook, a mostly blue-collar mill city of about 18,000 residents,
has seen its demographic makeup shift in recent years. Many immigrants
and refugees have settled in the city, in large part because of
affordable housing, and recent events have created racial and ethnic
tension.
After it was learned this month that Adnan Fazeli – an Iranian
refugee who became an Islamic State radical – had lived in Westbrook,
Muslims in the same housing complex were targeted with anonymous typed notes that read, “All Muslims are Terrorists should be Killed.”
Westbrook, like many communities, also has been hit hard by the
heroin and opiate epidemic. Following a rash of overdose calls, the
city’s police department accepted an offer by Maine’s attorney general
to equip officers with more doses of the life-saving drug Narcan.
In 2014, Westbrook had 11,770 registered voters, made up of 38
percent Democrats, 22.9 percent Republicans, 4.5 percent independent and
34.6 unenrolled,according to the secretary of state. When LePage was
re-elected in 2014, he received 41 percent of the votes cast in
Westbrook.
House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe, D-Skowhegan, criticized LePage for
wanting to schedule the town hall event in Gattine’s hometown.
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